(CNN) – Saying “I’m ready to lead. I’m ready to do what has to be done for the next generation,” all-but-declared Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum did just that, officially jumping into the race for the White House.
But the former two-term senator from Pennsylvania could face long odds and much better funded rivals in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum made his comments this morning, at a campaign event in Somerset County in the western part of his home state, near where his grandfather worked in a coal mine after coming to America from Italy. Santorum said his grandfather came to Somerset County to escape fascist Italy, to “give his children, my dad, who seven years old when he came in 1930, the opportunity for freedom, to live your dreams, because he knew American believed in him, believed in people, gave people a shot, if they worked hard, they could succeed.”
A few hours earlier, in an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America, Santorum said “we’re ready to get into this race, and we’re in it to win.”
The announcement kicks off a four-day campaign swing that will take Santorum to Iowa, the state which holds the first contest in the presidential primary and caucus calendar, and New Hampshire, which holds the first primary in the race for the White House. And his appearance on “Good Morning America” is the first of nearly 20 interviews on television and radio, including appearances on Rush Limbaugh’s and Glenn Beck’s radio programs. The former Fox News contributor will also appear twice on that network during his campaign rollout.
Santorum is arguably the most frequent flyer in the battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Since 2009 he has made 14 trips to Iowa, 17 to New Hampshire and 15 to South Carolina, the state that holds the first southern primary.
Santorum, who has seven children, was elected to the House in 1990, at age 32, and first elected to the Senate four years later. He lost his 2006 re-election bid by 18 points to Democrat Bob Casey Jr. and until last year was largely out of public view except for appearances on Fox News.
